This tour starts at the San Diego airport, from where you will fly to northern Arizona. The cost of this flight is included in the tour price, but there will be a checked luggage fee, which you will need to pay. After landing, you will take a shuttle to the Grand Canyon, where you will meet up with one of our guides. The portion of the trip from San Diego to the Grand Canyon is unescorted, which means you will not have a tour guide with you until you get to the Grand Canyon.

Depending on when you book, please be aware that the flight we need is occasionally not available, and on some days the price is higher. If that is the case on your date, we will always let you know what the situation is before charging your credit card.

Like almost all our tours, this is a small group trip. The vehicle used generally has between nine and 14 seats. Our guides are skilled in the geology, customs, traditions, history and people of the areas through which you travel – feel free to ask all and any questions!

At the Grand Canyon we will take you to several of the main viewpoints, including Mather Point and Bright Angel. Your skilled guide will give you an overview of the layout of the South Rim, and then leave you on your own to explore for a while. You can stroll around the Canyon, take pictures, admire the views, buy souvenirs, or get something to eat.

You can now extend your stay at the Grand Canyon. Instead of leaving the Canyon now and continuing your tour, you can spend as many extra nights there as you like. When you order the tour, you will see an option to add extra time at the Grand Canyon. Simply add as many additional nights as you want to stay there. Note that we will charge your card for the extra night(s) at the time we make the Grand Canyon hotel booking for you.

The way it works is that you will be taken out to the Grand Canyon, be shown some of the sights, and you will then check into your hotel. We always try and reserve a room at Bright Angel Lodge, which is at the rim. Depending on how late you book, this is often not possible, and we may book you at either Maswik Lodge, which is about a quarter mile (0.4 km) from the rim, or Yavapai Lodge, which is less than half a mile (0.75 km) from the rim, on the free shuttle route.

You will be at liberty to explore the Canyon on your own for the extra time that you choose. Please note that there will not be a tour guide with you for the extra night. The extended Grand Canyon stay is subject to lodging availability in the park. We will check this once the order has been placed.

Please also be aware that if the helicopter tour option is available on your tour, and you order it and extend, on some days you will need to take a taxi from the Grand Canyon to the Grand Canyon airport. We can help you arrange it, and we will pick you up after your helicopter tour, and take you back into the park.

The rest of the group will continue on their way through the Canyon to Page. If you extend, you will be picked up by one of our guides after your extended stay. The tour carries on as detailed below for those who are not spending a night or two at the Grand Canyon.

Grand View Point And The East Side Of The South Rim

The route we take out of the Grand Canyon travels along the less visited east part of the South Rim. There are several photo opportunities along the road. On the way we will stop at the Desert View Watchtower, a unique building designed by the legendary architect, Mary Colter, using rocks brought up from the bottom of the Canyon. The inside of the tower is full of artwork by Hopi (Indian) artists.

Desert View Watchtower

We will start dropping down from the South Rim, to the desert that is Navajo Nation land below. On the way we pass the Cameron Trading Post, one of the best purveyors of southwestern souvenirs and native American art and jewelry. If there is time we will stop here briefly.

Climbing up to a plateau once again, we start to approach Page, on the shores of Lake Powell. In the summer months, after checking in at your hotel we invite you to join our guide for a hike to Horseshoe Bend. When there is less daylight we may do Horseshoe Bend some other time.

Horseshoe Bend is one of the west's best kept secrets. The hike there is about 20 minutes each way, up and down a hill, and at times the ground below is made up of loose sand. The views of the Colorado River far below, seen through the precipitous canyon walls, are spectacular.

Horseshoe Bend: Optional hike

You are on your own for dinner. Remember that tomorrow morning there is a free breakfast included in the tour price.

You will be touring Antelope Canyon, in a specially converted off road vehicle, led by a Navajo guide.

Antelope Canyon is one of the most striking slot canyons known to man. A slot canyon is a narrow canyon sliced through a mesa by the forces of nature. Some canyons measure less than a yard across at the top, but drop a hundred feet or more from the rim to the bottom. Slots are cut and scoured by water and wind, with the striations of the sandstone becoming almost incandescent.

From within you will see a palette of colors transmuted by light filtering down from above and bouncing from wall to wall. Antelope Canyon can only be visited using the services of an authorized Navajo Nation guide.

Leaving Page we head east, across the Navajo Reservation. Every now and again you will see small Indian dwellings scattered across the harsh landscape.

As we approach the tiny Navajo town of Kayenta, the mesas and buttes for which the area is so well known start coming into view. Soon you can just about picture yourself in a scene from an old Western movie as we travel towards Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, as it is officially known.

Up next is a tour of Monument Valley, conducted by a Navajo guide, in an off road vehicle. Visitors love to see the buttes, mesas and other sandstone formations that are so prevalent in the Monument Valley area. Monument Valley is actually not really a valley at all, but a relatively flat plain surrounded by red cliffs, with the buttes, as well as the remnants of ancient volcanoes, towering from the earth.

For fans of old western movies, Monument Valley is the epicenter of the west, with many great cowboys and Indians films having been shot in the area. The familiar rock shapes can be seen from many miles away, with the really great scenery to be seen on the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, which straddles the Utah/Arizona border.

Amongst the sites that your tour may take in are movie locations, 1000 foot monoliths, rug weaving, and, of course, the famous monuments are visited.

There are some great viewpoints here, but the main area of interest is to be found down an easy stroll, to an overlook of some ancient cliff dwellings. Note that the trail slopes slightly downhill getting there, and is a little uphill on the way back. The total distance is about one mile (1.6 km) round trip. If you choose not to go, you can explore the interesting Visitor Centre and souvenir area.

At the end of the trail you will be able to gaze across the canyon to the Betatakin cliff dwellings, which were built in the middle of the 13th century. The alcove in which these were built is one of the biggest to be found anywhere. These dwellings were at one time home to the Ancestral Puebloan People, predecessors of today's Native Americans.

We will now travel along a dirt road to the Shonto Trading Post. Shonto is only visited during the summer months, and also only when the dirt road is in good condition, with no prospect of rain or flooding. When we do not stop at Shonto, we will go straight from Navajo National Monument to Page.

This is an authentic, Navajo owned trading post, unlike the large commercial ones you will find around the southwest. You will meet and talk to Navajo people at the trading post, and also be able to look at and buy handcraft that is made by people living on the Reservation. The rugs are particularly attractive, and are a traditional Navajo item.

Leaving Page we will drive over the Glen Canyon Dam Wall. A short distance up the road is a little known trail which leads to spectacular views over Lake Powell. Time permitting, we will drive up there to take a very brief look at the spectacular golden canyons partially submerged under the blue waters of Lake Powell.

The road to the small town of Kanab leads past Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. Kanab itself has been the setting for many western movies. From Kanab we will travel along a picturesque Utah back road, through some tiny towns, before arriving at Bryce Canyon.

Many who have seen both Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon tell us that Bryce is far more spectacular. You will marvel at the weirdly shaped hoodoos, in an amazing array of colorful hues. Bryce is not really a canyon, but a large amphitheater carved out of a variety of rock types. You will be taken to the three main overlooks, and will have time to walk around and explore these.

Feel free to spend an extra night or two just outside Bryce Canyon, at Bryce View Lodge. Please order this option when you check out, and note that it is subject to availability. If you do choose to extend at Bryce Canyon, you will continue with the regular tour after your extension.

There is a free shuttle that runs from a location that is a couple of hundred yards from Bryce View Lodge, into the park and around much of Bryce. Please be aware that this is a seasonal shuttle, which generally runs from the end of April to the end of September, although this is subject to change. We do not recommend extending at Bryce if the free shuttle is not running, as it will be difficult to get around.

You will carry on with the scheduled tour if you do not want to stay a little longer at Bryce.

We will take a particularly scenic Utah back road, following first the Sevier River and then the Virgin River, towards Zion National Park. Zion's story is one of rock and water, with plenty of both to be seen. The relatively soft and porous Navajo Sandstone is often layered over impregnable Kayenta Shale, and the interaction of this rock with the water has created myriad amazing shapes and patterns.

We will enter Zion at the less used east entrance, and take in the striking rock formations, with trees actually growing in the rocks. You will see how massive sand dunes have solidified into rock over the millennia. After traveling through an amazing tunnel that was blasted into the Navajo sandstone almost a century ago, we descend down a precipitous switchback road, to discover the Great Arch of Zion, a gigantic work in progress.

You can now extend your tour by spending a night or two in Springdale, which is literally right outside Zion. There is a free shuttle system that will take you into the park. You can order this Zion extension when you check out, although we do not recommend extending at Zion unless the shuttle is running, which is generally from the middle of March to the third week of October. If you extend at Zion, you will carry on with the rest of the tour the next day.

Leaving St. George, we travel down the picturesque Virgin River Gorge. We will pass through Mesquite, a casino town on the Arizona Nevada border, before driving across the desert and back to the bright lights of Las Vegas.

Please let us know if we can book a hotel room for you in Vegas at the end of the tour. We can generally get better rates than you.

Thanks for joining us. We hope to see you again some time in the future!

The days and dates this tour operates can be seen in the calendar at the top right of this page.

The entry fees to all parks are included.

The off road tours at Monument Valley and Antelope Canyon are included.

Two nights' accommodation are included at the Page Quality Inn or similar.

Prices are based on double occupancy. Single, triple and quad occupancy rates are also available and will be seen at checkout. There is no tax. The price assumes you book with enough notice. The flight price may be more expensive if you do not.

After ordering this tour please wait to receive a confirmation email from us before making any plans that are dependent on this tour.

All times are approximate. We are not responsible for the consequences of any delays, and this itinerary may change without notice.

We are also not responsible if flight delays cause you to miss part of this tour. if that happens all we will refund is the cost of the portion of the tour that you missed.

Depending on the time of the year, there may be a short wait in northern Arizona.

The price includes the services of a guide/driver and transportation.

Vehicles are mini buses or executive vans, which are vans with individual, high back, reclining seats.

If you extend your tour by staying a night at the Grand Canyon, you will generally be dropped off at Maswik Lodge, inside the Grand Canyon. If you are staying at one of the other two lodges, Bright Angel or Yavapai, you will need to take the free shuttle from Maswik to the lodge at which you are staying. The shuttles run approximately every 15 minutes, and the distance is about 1/3 of a mile. You will be picked up from your lodge the next day.

If you extend your stay at Zion, at the end of your extension, on some days you may travel by pre-paid taxi to St. George, where you will take a shuttle to the Las Vegas airport, where the tour will end. There will be a short wait from the taxi drop off to the time the shuttle departs.

Two breakfasts are the only meals included.

Portions of this tour may be subcontracted to other reputable vendors.

A minimum of two people may be required for a tour to depart. That is not two in your group, but a total of two.

This tour picks up as detailed above.

This tour drops off on the Strip.

Please note that in the winter months snow or other bad weather may result in tour itineraries being changed without notice, or even tours being canceled in extreme weather. Should a cancellation occur the only amount we will refund is the cost of the portion of the tour that is canceled, or a refund of the entire tour price if the tour itself is canceled.

Payment And Cancellation Details: This tour has an air leg. An amount equivalent to the cost of the flight will be charged to your card at the time we make the air booking. Half the remaining balance will be charged 45 days from the tour date, and the other half will be charged 10 or fewer days from the tour date. Once we have started work on booking the air leg we will not under any circumstances accept a cancellation. Please consider purchasing trip insurance as our cancellation policy is strictly enforced, irrespective of the reason for canceling.